Performance Guide

Performance-Guide

If one were given the daunting task of having to recreate and perform or record this song here is some advice I would give.
-Instrumentally: More of them is better. Conceivably I would like to play this song with a full band, plus a string section, and a horn section. However, one must take careful precaution that there is no ego, this song is not about your prowess at your instrument. A real musician knows that when performing less is often more. Play with taste and subtlety. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and if any part decides it’s more important than another then the message is lost.
-Rhythm: Perhaps may be the most important part because it is what unconsciously keeps the listener attentive. The tempo should be like sway; it is not plodding nor brusque, nor is it mechanical. Much of this is taken on by instruments such as the pianos and bells that beat out quarter notes, so these musicians should feel the song rather than read it.
-Vocals: Preferably can be sung like on the recording because otherwise you lose 2 very important parts of the song, the scat and the last round. That given, it is also given that you must know your parts cold if you want it to come off sounding tight. The lead vocal is relatively plain in timbre and dynamic range; there is not a lot of waver or tremolo.
-The ending: I feel that this type of round singing could have the tendency to move toward the epic. I am undecided here, and I feel that this section is more open to interpretation. If you want to stick straight to the song that is fine, but don’t let it crescendo. The song always seems to want to do that, especially every time you hear the drum fill, but we never crest and go full out, we are restrained and rather let the emotion in vocals do its job of getting stuck in the listener's head.